Restrictions
Restrictions is a short story written by ToaTusk, and was his entry to FireDrag1091's V Osade Writing Contest. The story was never completed as ToaTusk left the wiki shortly after. However, it was completed long after the end of the contest in honor of the contest's creator. The story follows a group of escaped Matoran convicts after a Lykos invasion on their homeland. Story Chapter I - 4:31 PM - Day 1 : My feet clang against the concrete floor of my cell. I actually enjoy pacing. It helps to pass the the time when you’re living in a brick room for hours at a time. My name’s “Ahkke”, or if you’re looking for a less formal name; “Prisoner 1762”. I’ll begin with a little summary of myself. I’m a Onu-Matoran from the far away island of Kera’sak, and after moving away from my homeland, I went to stay with a friend of mine on a smaller Island to the west of Metru Nui called “Slaxar Nui”. I stayed there for about a year, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to purchase a home and stay. Of course, I was being accommodated by my friend for the time during my visit, and it wasn’t until I started living on my own there that I learned that the island had some restrictions to everyday life. Most notably, I had to find a job within the first week of living there, or the island’s so called “government” would force me to leave. I didn’t believe them at first; that was until I witnessed it happening to my neighbor after he lost his job a few days before. Apparently, the island had very little active workers, as most residents are archeologists or scientists. Anyway, I’m drifting off topic. I hurriedly applied for a job in food service, and got accepted as a cashier. I worked there a week, and then without warning, the place shut down along with every business within that district of the island’s main village. When I confronted the authorities about the matter, they said everyone had gone to work for the law force. This was the first matter of confusion I encountered, as I had no idea why the Police had started hiring fry-cooks. I was without work for some time, and knew that I was going to be kicked off the island very soon. In an effort to make it less awkward for myself, I decided to sail back to Kera’sak on my own initiative. That was, until I learned the second matter of confusion. Kera’sak had been destroyed. At first I denied it. It had only been a year and a half, and apparently during that time the entire island had been obliterated. After doing some research, I learned just how isolated Kera’sak really was. I had lived there all my life, and I never once took the time to wonder what was going on outside of the island’s secretive bounds. As it turned out, the Turaga council of Kera’sak knew what was happening outside the island, but feared that if they revealed this information to the general public that it would cause an uproar. It wasn’t long before I became obsessed with the topic, and I went to very lengthy ends to find the answers. I was arrested nine times for poking my nose into classified data, and that is where I am now. Prison. Restricted. “And how are you doing on this fine day?” I pause my infinite walk cycle and glance over to the metal bars lining the front of my little room. Standing before me was a Ga-Matoran holding a tray of refreshments. “Food?” I hop over to the bars, reach through, and grab a large piece of fruit from the metal slab. Before I can drag it back through the bars, she slaps my hand causing me to drop the now dirt covered delicious-looking citrus fruit. I look back up at her in anger. “W-why would you do that?” “I didn’t say you could take whatever you wanted. Those fruits were reserved for Prisoner 1689. Here…” She hands me a moldy stick of bread. “Why in Karzanhi would I eat a moldy breadstick?” “Are you hungry?” I pause. “Yes.” “Then you’ll eat what I give you.” Before I could say anything else, she had passed on to the next cell. Funny. The prisoner beside me, his number...I can’t remember, is having a jolly time chatting with her. I take a bite of my breadstick. I guess I just need to take the time to get on her good side. ---- - 5:45 AM - Day 2 : '' Night. Darkness. When I say dark, I mean ''really dark. Pitch black almost. The only light left is this tiny hole in the back wall of my cell, and as much as I hate to say it, I think it would be better if it wasn’t there. Sure, it’s letting in some traces of moonlight, but it’s letting in even more insects. Yesterday morning I woke up with something resting on my face. I honestly have no idea what that thing was. I reach under my bed, and grab my only possession; a small book. Believe it or not I have read this book sixty-four times from front to back, and I could recite the entire thing from memory. You’re probably wondering what the book is, and why I like it so much, and to tell you the truth, I don’t like it. You know those books that they give to Matoran at a young age to help them read? The ones that start off like: This is Ehyre. Do you see Ehyre? Yeah, I think you get the picture. Don’t even ask me why I have it. I blindly tear a page from the book, and put the rest of it back underneath the bed. Oh, that reminds me, a few weeks ago, I tried escaping from this place. Although the long term escape plan failed, I did come across something quite notable. I was checking the floor tiles to see if there was a hidden passage or something underneath one. I have no idea what gave me that idea, but I ended up finding some past prisoners stash of goodies. Underneath one of those tiles were: tape, scissors, matches, alcohol, bandages, cloth, and some other things I won’t mention. I take one of the matches, strike it, and set the page ablaze. Tossing it to the floor, I watch as Ehyre's face shrivels and deforms before crumbling to black. The light from the fire fills a small portion of my cell, enough to send all of the insects scurrying for concealment. I hear a groan from the cell beside me. “Eh. Turn it off.” I walk over to the bars. “Hey. Are you awake?” “I am now. Do I know you?” He crackles. “I don’t think so.” “What’s with the light?” “Do you want me to put it out?” He sighs. “Don’t bother, I won’t be able to sleep now anyway.” He goes silent for a bit, and then I hear...static. “Hey, what's that?” Just then, a hand holding a small radio emerges from his cell. Motioning for me to take it, I snatch it from his hand, and begin fiddling with the dial. “Where did you get this?” He reaches back through, requesting the radio. “I found it in the same place you found the matches.” “How exactly...?” “I had that cell before you. When you arrived here they moved me next door.” “Can I hold onto it for a bit?” “I guess so...don’t let anyone see you with it though.” I sat there for a few minutes trying to pick up a signal. Utterly hopeless. “I have been trying for two months to get a signal with that thing." My neighbor whsipers. "It's useless." Well, I guess that’s that. His hand reaches back through the bars, as I give him back the device. “What’s your name?” I ask. “My name’s Lekape. Pronounced LEE-KAH-PAY.” “Well, I’m Ahkke. Pronounced AH-KEE.” He chuckles. “Whatcha in for Ahkke?” Um. Theres not really any delicate way to say I stole classified data from the government. Plus, I don’t want to lose his respect quite yet, after all, he is the first person I’ve actually gotten along with during my time in here. “I robbed a...drug store…” I’m a horrible liar. He tries to hold back the laughter. “If you don’t want to tell me that’s fine...there’s no reason to make stuff up…” “How could you tell?” “Son, no one gets thrown into a maximum security prison for petty theft. If you’re in here, then you must be a reasonable threat to Slaxar Nui’s government.” I never thought of it that way. “Well, what did you do Lekape?” I’m going to regret asking this. “I murdered twenty three Matoran council members…” Yep, I regret asking. “Nah. Just kidding, all I did was threaten to kill twenty three Matoran council members. I didn't like their attitude.” Whew. Just then, the radio static changes to words. “Lekape! We got a signal!” He cringes. “Quiet!” “Oh yeah, I forgot…” The signal wasn’t the best, and the words were still continuously interrupted by static. “Ahkke, do you have any paper in there?” “Yeah, why?” “We’ve picked up some kind of military radio. I can hear someone shouting coordinates.” “Why does that concern us?” Lekape sighs. ”It doesn’t, but don’t you think we should still write it down? What if this is top secret stuff, and we could use this to blackmail our way out of this place?” He had a point. Whether or not it was worth the risk, I really didn’t care. I crawl over to my bed, grab the book, and tear another page out. Then, I walk over to the “tool tile”, open it, and grab a pen. “What should I write?” “They’re repeating the same thing over and over. Try to make out what they’re saying to the best of your ability…” He hands me the radio, and I hold it up to my ear. “''Y - 9678, X - .0.8, Z...7, .YK.., ..HN..IS, .ET.C..D.” “I can only make out the first one.” “Try messing with the dial. Think of this as your way out of here, Ahkke…” I turn the dial for a bit, and after a few seconds I can clearly hear the full line. It was more of a crackling voice. Definitely not the voice of a Matoran. “''Y - 9678, X - 7018, Z - 9337, LYKOS, MEHNOTIS, DETECTED.” Chapter II - 5:58 AM - Day 2 : '' I glance at Lekape. "What in Karzanhi is a Lykos Mehnotis?" Just then, the hall door bursts open and the lights flip on. Lekape quickly snatches the radio, and I scurry over to my pile of tools and tuck them back into the floor. When I turn back around, I am greeted by the sight of four security officers. "Come with us Ahkke." My face goes pale. If they had discovered my tool stash, I was screwed. I had already tried to escape once, and I seriously doubt these guys would tolerate a second attempt. One of the guards reaches into his pocket and pulls out a large ring of keys. He searches for a specific key and then unlocks my cell door. I step out of my cell as another guard handcuffs me, and we begin moving. I pass Lekape, who seems to have the same look of concern on his face that I do. We advance down the hall finally reaching the end. One of the guards flips the lights back off, and shuts the 6 inch vault door. We travel through the inner tunnels of the facility, until we reach the exit. The bright white sunlight nearly blinds me. The fresh morning breeze struggles to topple me over. Outside stands a Turaga, a couple of transports, and another large group of officers. The Turaga speaks out over the roaring transport engines. "Mr. Ahkke?" The guards uncuff my hands and shove me towards him. "This is him." Silence. No one says a word. I hadn't seen the outside world in months. I look around at everything and notice not much had changed. We were on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and to my left was a very tall lighthouse that seemed to expand all the way up into the plush clouds. After another minute, the Turaga finally speaks. "Do you know why we've brought you out here Ahkke?" I shake my head. "Is it true that nine months ago you stole information from Slaxar Nui's data bank?" I see one of the guards start nodding, only to be whacked in the head by the Turaga's staff. "I want to hear it from him." I nod. The Turaga steps closer. "Why?" I look back at him, confused. "Answer the question." "Um...well...the..." "Without stuttering." "Well there was this Muaka..." "The truth please." I sit there. Silent again. The Turaga stares at me through his rusty white Kanohi Pakari. "Ahkke, we believe you have some information we need." Four more transports arrive, and from them emerge four more squads of officers. "Wait..you think?" Everyone cocks their guns. "I didn't keep any of the data I stole, I burned it all days before I was arrested! I swear!" Everyone exchanges the same glance. Silence. The Turage comes closer ."We need you to tell us about Kara'sak." ---- - ''12:34 PM - Day 2 : I told them everything. I needed answers. Let me say however, that Turaga needs to end himself. Not only did that jerk not answer any questions about how my homeland got obliterated, but he sat there and laughed about it. Now It's midday, and I'm back in my cell doing the same thing as always. Thinking. "Let's go." Look's like they're bring Lekape out for questioning too. He steps out of his cell and into his handcuffs. "They need to make out with me too I guess." He laughs. I watch as Lekape is escorted down the hallway, and through the door. ---- - 7:15 PM - Day 2 : I lay on my wooden bed. Lekape's been out for questioning a lot longer than I was. Plus, he's from Le-Metru and not Kera'sak, so whatever they want to know could only be based on what I've told him. I told him the same story I told them about Kera'sak, so they won't be hearing anything new anyway. Bang. Screaming. Gunshots. I run over to the bars. All the other prisoners are confused as well. Suddenly, the facility goes dark. The gunshots stop, and I hear the door at the end of the hall open. "Hello?" Someone walks over to my cell and starts fiddling with the keys. "Ahkke, we've gotta go...now." Lekape. "I was worried, I thought they shot you or something." "Nah they didn't Ahkke, they didn't." There's panic in his voice. "I heard gunshots or something. What was that?" "The Turaga." "You shot him!" "No." "Wait, who then?" Lekape sighs. "Himself."'' Chapter III '''TBA' Chapter IV TBA Chapter V TBA A Letter From Mehnotis TBA Broken Sails For Dead Fishermen TBA Characters *Ahkke *Lekape *Kahitu *Many unnamed Matoran villagers *Mehnotis *Lykos General Teranoh Trivia *The Lykos coordinates in Chapter I were not tested, and may not exactly make sense of any specific location. *The story is the seventh known entry into FireDrag1091's writing contest. Category:User:ToaTusk Category:User:FireDrag1091 Category:Stories